Happenings of the Chabad Lubavitch אנ"ש community of Rockland County, New York

Friday, December 23, 2016

Parsha Perspective

By Rabbi
Yisroel Shusterman

This week’s
Parsha Perspective is dedicated by Mr. Binyomin Philipson in memory of
his late mother Mrs.
Ellen (Elka bas Zisel) Philipson OBM

In memory of Leah bas Rochel OBM

A number of years ago, an
incident happened, in Argentina, resulting with a Shochet’s (ritual
slaughterer’s) life being saved because of the greeting “¿Cómo estás?” (“How are you?”)

A group of these Shochetim (ritual slaughterers) were leaving the
abattoir late one afternoon, passing the guard’s hut, when all of a sudden one
of the guards called out “Isn’t one of you fellows missing?” They looked around
and realized that indeed one of their group was not with them. They went back
to find him, but only after an extensive exhaustive search did they locate him
trapped in the huge walk-in freezer. He had entered the freezer to put away
some meat packages at the end of the day only to find that the lock of the
freezer door was broken and would not open from the inside. He was trapped
inside, but found just in time, thank G-d. Everyone realized that he would have
never survived the night in that freezer.

The next day, the manager asked
the guard: “I’m really curious. How did you know that the Rabbi was still
inside the plant?”

“It’s really very simple,” the
guard answered. “Every single morning without fail, I am greeted with a
solitary ‘good morning.’ It’s the rabbi who greets me this way. Every evening,
upon leaving, he wishes me a hearty ‘good night.’ Yesterday morning I received
my usual cheery ‘good morning,’ but I still hadn’t received my usual ‘good
night’. . .”

In this week’s Torah reading Vayeishev (Bereishis
[Genesis] 37:1-40:23), we read the dramatic story of
Joseph - the multicolored coat, the sibling rivalry in Jacob’s family, and
Joseph’s descent to Egypt, sold into slavery. After being framed by his
master’s wife, Joseph finds himself incarcerated in an Egyptian jail. There he
meets the Pharaoh’s butler and baker, and correctly interprets their respective
dreams. Later, when Pharaoh himself will be perturbed by his own dreams, the
butler will remember Joseph, and Joseph will be brought from the dungeon to the
royal court. His dream analysis will satisfy the monarch, and the young Hebrew
slave boy will be named viceroy of Egypt. And the rest is history. How did
Joseph’s salvation begin?

It began with the imprisoned Joseph noticing that the butler and baker were
looking depressed. “And Joseph came to them in the morning and he saw them, and
behold, they were troubled. He asked Pharaoh’s officials. ‘Why do you
look so bad today?’” (Genesis 40:6–7). They tell him about their disturbing
dreams, he interprets the dreams correctly, and again, the rest is history.

But why did Joseph have to ask
them anything at all? Why was it so strange to see people in prison looking
sad? Surely depression is quite the norm in dungeons. Wouldn’t we expect most
people in jail to look miserable?

According to the Lubavitcher Rebbe, the answer is that Joseph was exhibiting a
higher sense of care and concern for his fellow human beings. Torn away from
his father and home life, imprisoned in a foreign land, he could have been
forgiven for wallowing in his own miseries. Yet, upon seeing his fellow
prisoners looking particularly unsettled, he was sensitive enough to take the
time to inquire about their well-being. In the end, not only did he help them,
but his own salvation came about through that fateful encounter. Had he thought
to himself, “Hey, I’ve got my own problems, why worry about them?” he might
have languished in prison indefinitely. Sometimes, says the Rebbe, a simple
“How are you today?” can prove historic. In Joseph’s case, it changed Jewish
history!

This
forthcoming week will be the beautiful holiday of Chanukah, beginning this
Shabbat eve (December 24, 2016). The Chanukah lights lend particular
emphasis to this teaching. Every night of Chanukah a new light must
be added, for one’s Mitzvah observance should always be in ascendancy. What may
have been adequate for yesterday needs additional input and light for today!
Preferably one should not observe the Mitzvah today with the same devotion as
yesterday; he must increase his commitment and involvement.

Let us indeed
strive to improve and enhance our interpersonal relationships. Who knows? It
may not only change other’s lives, but perhaps even our own!